


Gentle Coyote

by sillyboyblue



Category: The Hitcher (1986)
Genre: Drabble, Gen, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 22:14:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8941465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sillyboyblue/pseuds/sillyboyblue
Summary: Jim is alone in the desert after John's death -- but not for long.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Vanfu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanfu/gifts).



Jim knew he would not make it home.

He had been walking under the blazing sun for hours. He had no water nor food and absolutely no sunglasses. The reflection of the sun in the hot sand mixed with the sweat getting in his eyes was slowly blinding him. 

There was no hope left. Was there ever any ?

As he came across another hill, Jim caught the yellow flash of a sand snake. Before the creature could do anything, he crushed its head under the heel of his boot.

The sun was at its highest when his eyes spotted movement in the distance. A shape was crawling in the sand. Too small to be human, it was like a moving heap of sand clumped together. It had Jim's curiosity.

As he got closer to it, high-pitched wails that sounded like a baby's got to his ears. He expected to find a half-dead dog or a roadkill survivor clinging to its dear life.

But once he was so close that his body cast a shadow on the animal, he realized it was a tiny baby coyote, with fur the same color as the sand. There was no sign of a parent or sibling nearby. It was all alone in the world.

Jim gathered the poor beast in his hands and checked for any external sign of injury. There was none. The small thing could as well have been born on the same morning, it was brand new, perfect.

Jim took off his shirt to wrap the small coyote in it and resumed his walking. The puppy stopped crying as soon as Jim began to move and even fell asleep in his arms.

They both knew each other already. 

Jim quickened his pace and did not stop until he reached the road. He held the coyote in one arm and extended the other, sticking his thumb up.

The puppy was sucking on his nipple.


End file.
